The present invention relates to a safety device for water sports, and more particularly to a low cost apparatus and method for making water skis highly visible when lying idle in a body of water.
Through the years, water sports have become increasingly popular. In particular, the sport of water skiing enjoys widespread participation in more than 40 countries on at least four continents. In the United States alone, over 18 million persons a year participate in the sport of water skiing. Water skiing, of course, may be generalized as the activity in which a skier is supported on a single ski or pair of skis and is pulled across the surface of the water by a tow rope attached to a power boat.
While water skiing has gained widespread acceptance, it is generally recognized that a number of substantial dangers are involved in the exercise thereof. Aside from the physical dangers of falling or the like, boaters and skiers experience further danger of possible injury due to the virtually inevitable separation of the individual water skis from the particular water skier during the course of skiing.
Such separation of skier and water skis may be intentional, such as when a skier elects to drop from two skis to one ski in an effort to slalom ski, or unintentional, such as when a skier falls while skiing. In either event, the water skis come to rest at or slightly beneath the surface of the water such that they are difficult to observe by boaters, skiers, and other water sportsman, particularly if they are travelling at high rates of speed.
The danger of having water skis resting inconspicuously in the water is particularly real in congested or crowded lakes and the like. Often, such unattended floating water skis are virtually impossible to view until it is too late to avoid serious misfortune. In fact, boaters, skiers, and other water sportsman have been involved in substantial and numerous tragic accidents from colliding with, or swerving to avoid, water skis that float unattended in the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,113 disclosed an early attempt to address aspects of this longstanding issue. The disclosed combination included a spherical righting element mounted upon the dorsal surface of the water ski. However, those having a modicum of skill in the art soon realized that placing such a righting device upon the dorsal surface of the ski created yet another hazard, as the indicator itself often was caused to violently impact upon posterior portions of the skier's body. As such, improved saftey devices not inherently dangerous are required to overcome these problems.
Moreover, the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,113 attempted to increase the visibility of the water ski by merely forcing the unattended water ski into a normal and upright position, with the boot extending into the air so as to alert passing water sportsmen. However, merely bringing the water ski into the upright position, with the boot extending upward into the air, does not effectively increase the visibility of the water ski. As noted above, unattended water skis, whether in an upright or overturned position, result in numerous accidents and injuries to boaters, skiers, and other water sportsmen.
A need therefor exists for increasing the safety of water skiing by increasing the visibility of water skis and similar water sport devices while floating unattended in the water. In particular, a water sport safety device is needed which adequately warns other boaters, skiers, and other water sportsmen regardless of whether the water ski is in the upright or overturned position.